stevens



(No Model.) y 2 sheets-sheet 1. E. B. HBSS 8v W. X. STEVENS.

. REPRIGBRATOR'. No. 397,984. FPatented Peb. 19, 1889.

N. PETERS. Pmxamhugnpner, wzshmgw. D. C.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. B. HESS & W. X. STEVENS.

REPRIGBRATOR.

Patentedv Feb. 19, 1889. 1I.v

N. PETERS. Pnmv-Luhngmpmr. washnpnn. D. c.

EDNVARD EMI-IESS, OF NET YORK IVASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF SAID HESS.

, N. Y., AND VILLIAM X. STEVENS, OF

COLUMBIA; SAID STEVENS ASSIGNOR TO RFRIGERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 397,984,

Application filed September l, 1888. Serial No. 284,355.

dated February 19, 1889.

(No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.:

Be it known that we, EDWARD B. HESS and WILLIAM X. STEVENS, citizens of the United respectively, in the city of New York, State of New York, and in the i the District of Columbia, have invented -certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerators; and we do States, residing,

city of IVashingtOn, in

hereby declare the following to be a full, olea 1o and exact description SELD] 6.

frigerators which are adapted for provide means whereby 2 o the atmosphere which tect absorbent articles-such as milk, butte custard, &c.-from becoming contaminated by from onions, cucumbers, fish, article the longest practicable time bythe least practicable conthe exhalations &c., and to preserve each sumption of ice.

To this end our invention consists in the construction and combination of parts torn ing a refrigerator, hereinafter described an y panying drawings, in which- Figure I is a front elevation ol.l our refrigerator with the door open. Fig. II is a long tudinal vertical section ot the its interior in service. tal section at the line a, Fig. II. transverse vertical section at the III, with the door closed. Fig. V is a pla view of a modification ot' our water-pan.

7 represents the body Eig. 1v is These form a chamber, into the upper portio of which ice, ll, is to be placed upon an open grating, l2, and into the lower and larger por-Y tion of which the various articles of food are to be placed for preservation.

I3 represents one or more waterpan grooved at i4. near their edges to of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the claimed, reference being had lto the accon same, showing Fig. III is a horizonline y, Fig.

of the refrigerator provided with two lids, 8 9, and a door, l0.

receive the lower edges of covers 15, which are close dishes inverted, forming lated cells.

I6 represents other pans corresponding to the pans 13, but further provided each with a pivot-pin, 17, to engage any one of the sockets 18,1ixed to the walls T of the chamber, whereby the pans 1G become bracket-shelves capable of being swung to the right or left in their sockets I8, and some of the sockets may be fixed at the sides of the doorway, as in Fig. III, so that the shelves therein hung may swing out at the doorway. The central portion of each pan lf3 lli is raised about threeeighths ot an inch above the bottom of its groove to serve as a floor for articles of food, or dishes containing them, to be placed on. In service, after placing the articles ot food, either with or without a dish to hold it, upon aI pan, the cover to that pan is to be placed i over the food and into the groove in the pan, thus inclosing the food in a cell, andthat cell and contents are to be returned within the with the pans isochamber of the refrigerator and the door to be closed. Opening the door has let warm air into the chamber, and in coolingl thereof a portion of the ice is melted, and water dripping therefrom falls upon 'the covers below and abstracts warmth from the air withinv each cover, thus reducing the temperature of the food therein to safety-point for preservation. At the same time the dripping water gat-hers in the grooves il. in the pans, thus immersing the edges of the covers l5, and el'- l fectually sealing the cells against the passage l of air to or from them under normal pressure. This imprisons within its cell the exhalations from any article, such as ish; it prevents the contamination of delicacies by inhalation from any source, each article being shut up in an atmosphere of its own, and it prevents those sudden changes of air around the food common to refrigerators not provided with t-hese covers, inner chambers, or cells. As alarge portion of the air within the common chamber is sealed up in the said cells, it is evident that the air between the cells in the chamber will be cooled ofi' after each closhad been permitted to blow C/II upon each article of food while the door was within them and produce sweating on their` inner sides, this moisture will run down to the grooved pan, where only a very narrow ringA of water is exposed within the cell, and the imprisoned air will contain less destroying germs than free dry air does. The upper two cells are pivoted at the sides of the doorway in order that they may be swung out at the doorway from beneath the grating 12, so

that the covers may be raised off from their contents. This would give space for any covers below to be raised, or they also may be pivoted beside the door. In this way the lower pan may be reached while within the chamber, or it may be made in two or more parts or pans to be removed separately at the doorway. To swing out the two side cells, as shown in Fig. lll, a central space would have `to be left open, and to economize this we secure to the inner side of the door 10 a receptacle, 10, which may be used for drinkingwater and be provided with an external faucet, 20, from which to draw the water. Then the door is closed, the receptacle 19 swings in between the cells 15. Each cover maybe provided with one or more handles, 21, by which to lift it, and the covers may be made round, oblong, or of any desired shape to fit the grooves 14 inthe pans and to receive fooddishes, so as to economize space inthe chamber, always keeping in mind that the smallest-cover which will properly seal an article is the best, because it furnishes the smallest amount of ai r, and air promotes decay or spoiling of food. The receptacle 19, fixed upon the door, might be adapted to hold vegetables or fruit or any article of food instead of being a cold-water tank. Some vegetablessuch as v cucumbers, lettuce, &c.*are best preserved in drippin cold water, and they may be placed upon and between the cells to economize space, and even fresh onions may be so kept without contaminating the neighboring cream secluded within its cell.

A large pan, 13, may be grooved to receive two or more covers at the same time, and if the grooves 14 cross one another in various ways, as shown in Fig. V, it will not prevent the perfect sealing of cach cell, because the water will stand at one common level in all the grooves of the same pan, and when the edge of a cover is placed down into the water the cell is closed air-tight.

The grating 12 is the platform of our weighing device. 'Any style of weighingscales suited for this purpose may be adapted,-as follows, to fit our refrigerator.

30 represents fourbrackets fixed in the four vertical corners of the chamber, eachbracliet having a V-shaped steel edge, upon= which edges the levers 31v are fulcrumed. These levershave the usual scale-connections with eachother to support the platform 12, andconnect, also, with a spring, by means of a rod, 22, which has a rack of gear-teeth along one side engaging a toothedliinion, 26, which is secured upon a journal, 27, that passes through the front wall of the refrigerator. 24

is an index-finger mounted on the shaft 27A and pointing to .graduations ou the dial 25, representing pounds and fractions thereof. lVhen ice is placed upon the Vgrating 12, its weight is indicated by the index-finger on the dial. This isa matter of importance in settling disputes between dealers and consumers of ice. It also enables the consumer to judge at any time whether he has ice enough to last over until another call of the dealer, 'and whether there is enough ice left in the chamber to keep it at the desired temperature.

The grating 12 may be substituted by any kind of open or perforated platform which will support ice and permit water to drip. therefrom through it. lt might be possible to. insert ice at a door if itwere made high enough, so tha-t a lid to the refrigerator vis not apositive necessity. Any openings which would give access to the interior of the chamber would serve for lids and doors.

There may be notches in the edges of thc pans where it is desirable to direct the overflow to escape, or the outer edge of the pan may be lower than its central portion or body, so that the water will iiow over before it would rise upon the inner platform. The water may escape from the chamber by any usual p ipc,- 32, and be caught in a drip-pan, 33. The pans` may be separate from the bracket-shelves, so as to be removable therefrom. A cover may be inverted and iilled with anything, then the pan be inverted and placed thereon, and the. two maybe turned right side up together and placed in the chamber in order that the cell may be filled full, as inl case of the upper cells. (Shown in Fig. Il.)

Having thus fully described our invention, what we believe to be new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

1. The combination of a chamber having openings, a perforated support for ice in the upper portion of the chamber, grooved pans located in the chamber below the ice-support and in line of the drippings therefrom, and close covers fitted to the grooves in the pans, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination of a chamber having openings, a series of vertical sockets secured to the inner face of the walls of the chamber, and a series of bracket-shelves provided with vertical pivots to engage the said sockets in: dependent of the chamber-door, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combinationof a refrigerator-cham- IOO ber having a series 0f Vertical sockets on the In testimony whereef We affix ou r signatures inner face of its Walls, a series of grooved in presence of two Witnesses. bracket-shelves provided each Wit-11 :L Vertical pvot to ft the said sockets, and a series 0f g2??? 5 covers tted to the said she1fgr00ves,sub A A stantiaHy-as shown and described, whereby NVitneSses:

one shelf maybe swung to one side from over J. LEVY, another Within the chamber to permit the re- ALBERT STEINLEIN, moval of covers Within' the chamber, as Set; NVM. L. SPEIDEN, Io forth.

P. E. STEVENS. 

